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"There is no significant hazard to the environment through ship-breaking," said junior federal environment minister, Babulal Marandi, waving a study conducted by a government-owned consultant firm, MECON. Marandi's declaration was a clear indication that the government has little intention of stopping the coast of the western state of Gujarat from turning into the main graveyard for the world's ships. The MECON study in fact pointed out that water pollutants generated during ship-breaking results in changes in water quality and affect marine-systems in the inter-tidal zone. But Marandi glossed over such inconvenient aspects of the study saying that marine life could be minimized through "environmental planning, safe disposal of oil wastes, green development and monitoring." All that is far into the future. Presently the Gujarat state government is busy doing everything it can to promote the billion dollar industry controlled by a nexus of officials at the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and powerful ship-breaking tycoons. With the ultra right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in power both in Gujarat and at the center it is difficult to see Marandi opposing an industry which also brings in 2.5 million tons of steel representing ten per cent of India's overall steel production. The most that has happened so far is that, in May, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) produced a set of toothless guidelines for the industry and recommended rejection of ships with high levels of pollutants listed the Basel Convention. While the Basel Convention bans the export of many items which are commonly found on the ships such as asbestos, lead and pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, the ships themselves are exempt. "We expect the governments of the South Asian region to prevent the import of these ships by seeking protection under the Basel Convention by including toxic ships in the hazardous wastes list of the Technical Working Group," said Nityanand Jayaraman of Greenpeace. Bangladesh and Pakistan where environment and safety norms are not much better than in India are serious competitors for the business. CPCB chairman, Dilip Biswas said the guidelines would help ship-breaking yards to work in an eco-friendly manner and serve as a yardstick for the GMB and customs authorities to regulate the industry. But environmentalists say that the CPCB, which earlier earned a reputation for toughness by resisting political pressure by ordering closure of hundreds of polluting industrial units, has buckled under pressure exerted by the ship-breaking lobby. According to Ravi Agarwal, chief of the leading Delhi-based environment groups, Srushti, and Jayaraman the CPCB guidelines as well as the MECON studies cited by Marandi are just eyewash. Besides, said Agarwal, the "mafia-like conditions," prevailing at the shipyards prevent the enforcement of any law or safety norm although on average two workers die at the yards from the explosions, fires and falling steel sections every week. A report prepared by Toxic-Link, an environmental research group, earlier this year, records the inhumane conditions under which thousands of workers slave at the yards simply because they cannot find other employment. Says Toxic-Link researcher, Madhumita Dutta: "The situation at Alang and Sosiya where most of the ship-breaking takes place can best be compared to a Nazi concentration camp." According to Dutta many of the 40,000 odd workers at Alang and Sosiya on a ten kilometer stretch of beach not only face grave occupational hazards but their living conditions are such that many suffer from diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis. With few medical facilities available nearby the workers depend on quacks and when seriously ill or injured, have to removed to clinics or hospitals in Bhavnagar town about 50 kms away, she said. During a tour of the site in January, Dutta was accompanied by GMB official who warned her against taking pictures of the ships or of the many workers injured or paralysed from the frequent accidents. Most of the ships that arrive on the Gujarat coast come from the United States where environmental and safety laws prevent ship-breaking, but do not prohibit their export to other countries. "As far as the U.S is concerned, developing countries are the scavengers of the world with India heading the pool," Jayaraman said. Last January, Greenpeace, along with other members of the Basel Action Network (BAN) such as the powerful All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) demonstrated in front of the U.S embassy here demanding an end to the export of discarded ships to India. According to Jayaraman, Embassy officials had then responded by saying that they could do little if Indian laws permitted import of scrapped ships.
Marcelo Furtado tel: (55-11)30612934 FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. More News |
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